


Breathless

by Rotschild



Series: Monsters and Heroes [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Tricking Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 17:59:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13463559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rotschild/pseuds/Rotschild
Summary: On a Mission against Talon, Jack got knocked around a little too much.To his luck he has a powerful shadow on his side.





	Breathless

**Author's Note:**

> I write these little stories on my way to work.  
> I fell so hard in love with this game that I started writing again. after years of block, lack of ideas and motivation.  
> In a language I cant even speak well. 
> 
> I am so freaking proud. 
> 
> More will surely follow. Soooon.

A skirmish with Talon agents never was much fun to begin with, because these guys never played it fair. It was all strategic planning, cutting the teams off and scattering them in different directions while they tried to get them with the most ridiculous weaponry. 

Laser guns, heat searching helix rockets, snipers with poisoned mines... 

Talon felt like a cartoon villain if you only read online and with a lot of distance about the destruction they caused. Too bad people were actually dying because of them. 

"Sniper! Get your heads down or loose it!", Jack roared disoriented while his ears rung from the last explosion. He got pretty good knocked around by a guy with a heavy shotgun, not Gabriel, and his backup, who his just out of sight behind a pillar. 

The Sniper outside got him unprepared, the bullet tore right through his upper left arm. He couldn't hold up his pulse rifle like this and he was already cut off from the others. No more biotic emitters and emergency supplies either. 

Still, he had to search for an alternative route back and he had to be quick. 

But the guys swarmed him this time like angry hornets. It didn't surprise him that getting Soldier76 killed or captured was a bolded and underlined point on Talons to do list, but this obtrusiveness in their tries was entirely new. 

Jack fought like Gabriel had taught him to. Never fair, always fast in quick bursts of energy and with minimal openings. 

But then, one opponent were suddenly two. Two got to three. A fourth guy whipped out a combat knife and then there was a fifth one with just his fist and a brick in his hand. 

Too many to keep track of all at once. 

While he got the two unarmed guys away from him, a knife stabbed deep into his unprotected side. As he took it out to ram it into his assailants throat, a brick slammed right into his face. 

The recoil and screech of capped connections almost caused him to pass out on the spot. 

His sight flickered and faded while disorienting but familiar static noise began to fill his ears. 

Blind and deaf he concentrated on movement and creaking of the floorboards, which he could feel under his boots. Of course he got fucked up good in this fight, even if he made it out alive. 

His lungs heaved, burning with exhaustion, as he blindly searched for his rifle. Adrenalin gave him enough boost to push through and keep it going, but it was hard to know where to, if you couldn't see or hear for shit. 

"Soldier76 reporting in", he rasped. His sight flickered irritatingly, while that stream of static never stopped. He wasn't sure if he still had a signal. "Winston? "

An Explosion bright and hot in his face lifted him right of his feet. And because it was one of those really bad days, not only got he burned and thrown off, but also tripped right over a fragile railing. 

It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the shrapnel that buried itself in his stomach and chest the same moment it scratching deep wounds into the exposed flesh of his face. 

So over the railing he fell, tumbled down some stairs, broke some ribs and an arm, till his body knocked down on damn hard Asphalt were it finally came to lie. All breath was forced out of him and as he tried to blink some consciousness into his sluggish brain it got clear that his visor was now not longer functional. 

As in broken beyond any efforts of repair. 

Maybe there were even slivers of synthetic materials and glass embedded in his eyes and skin.

It sure as hell felt like it. 

Groaning Jack rolled on his stomach, tried to get hands and feet under himself, to get up and away before the next salve hit, while his ears were flooded with obnoxiously loud ringing that sounded like way too close war sirens. 

Even if his visor didn't work anymore, maybe the com link was still active. He needed to make his report.

A big Hand closed around the back of his neck, lifted him from the concrete like a doll and next a hit to his jaw almost made him loose consciousness. 

In a last burst of strength through the adrenaline that was buzzing through his system, he broke that guys arms in retaliation before he began to sway on his feet. 

These Talon guys, despite everything they were doing, weren't trying to kill him. They wanted to wear him out and get him. For what purpose he couldn't say. If Gabriel was right and Jack believed like hell he was, they knew Soldier76 was almost indistructable and they also knew why that was. Hence they weren't holding anything back. 

Tired as hell and hurting he stretched out his shot and bruised left arm and stumbled blindly forward. 

As soon as he reached a nearby wall he leaned in and tried to breath in deep heaving motions, almost unable to do it at all. And he knew he was done for as three feeble steps later his legs gave out under him and all he could do to not fall flat on his face was to stretch out his hands to claw at the next best thing available to hold him up. 

But nothing was there. 

As he fell to the ground, almost unable to breathe or move, not able to see or hear anything beyond static noise, he knew he had to give his status out. 

"I'm on my own", he rasped into his com link. Jack swallowed, while he tried to concentrate on his lame tongues movement in his mouth. "Winston. Soldier76 out cold. No sight, no hearing. No reportable position. Don't search. Get the kids out save."

He had no Idea if the com link was still working or if he just rambled useless bullshit in a delirious state of mind.He still kept on going because he needed to. "Snipers positioned three clicks down westward from the market lane. At least three Talon operatives I only knocked out in the area. One guy with a helix rocket launcher. maybe an arsenal space by the storage yard. Stay safe and cut the connection, I can't do it."

Jack swallowed uselessly the blood that was dripping down his throat and started to concentrate now full and only on staying alive. Mostly he tried to keep a slow rhythm with his respiration and tried to not focus so hard on the horrible pain that wrecked his whole body. 

God, he always hated this part. 

And, right as expected, it wasn't for long that some other guy pulled at the collar of his bloody leather jacket. He lifted him just high enough that Jacks hands did no longer reach the ground and he started to choke. A jab to his brow almost knocked him out again and still, the guy kept on tearing at him. 

As he stood on kitten weak legs his body was rammed against a grainy wall in front of him, his arms twisted painfully while the pressure on his chest only got heavier as the guy forced his shoulder against Jacks spine. 

All he could do was try to breath with a wide open mouth while his lips slowly turned a ghostly kind of blue. 

From one moment to the next the pressure on his back disappeared and his arms were suddenly free. 

His body got rocked backwards and Jack fell like a cut down tree. All he could do now was lie there. Like a stranded beetle on his back with widely splayed limbs, not longer able to get up on his own. 

All he did was suck and gasp and rattle for precious oxygen as his weak diaphragm got so very, very tired of opening up enough space in his lungs on its own. Tears of exhaustion and humiliation, of being bested so damn easily, burned in his tired eyes. He felt the steady hum of deep seated exhaustion in his bones. 

Slowly and inevitably Jacks eyelids began to droop. 

Hands as cold as ice suddenly touched his face while his rattling breaths grew weaker still. The cold made him shiver and burned in his wounds, while Jacks fingers and hands began to tingle with ice like numbness. 

Sharp talons scratched over his face, caught on blood and grime, pulled weirdly gentle at scattered shards and shrapnel and the solid part of his broken down visor, while a steady and strong presence seemed to wrap itself all around Jacks entire body. 

It left behind the feeling of being scattered all over time and space. For just one or two moments the pain was gone and he lost all sense of direction. It felt nothing like dying. Not like he was used to, anyway. More like... suddenly loosing awareness of being. 

But way too soon this precious moment was gone and pain flooded his lungs and throat, thick like tar and black as night. 

Jack held on tightly to the person who got him, too out of his mind with pain and exhaustion to care at all. He surely was mumbling, or even begging all kinds of things. What a relief that he couldn't hear himself cry out in pain. 

His diaphragm began to squeeze and spasm painfully like he knew it would. His breaths hitched and fell even shorter till he lost his ability to breath at all. Numbness crept like fire and ice right under his skin. 

His useless body was lifted and his head lolled back, stretched his sore throat bare. The next moment ice cold lips sealed themselves over his in a kiss that felt as cold as death. 

Urgently needed oxygen flooded his weakly hitching lungs and got him enough strength again to thrash and claw and at least try to survive. 

But he still hadn't it in him to breath on his own. Gabriel, and of course it was Gabriel because who the hell else would have even bothered, never stopped filling his lungs with burning cold air. Breathed for him as steady and reliable as Jack needed him to, for who the fuck even knew how long. 

Jack wanted to ask him what he was doing, what if someone saw, what with Winstons Overwatch and Talon out there. But his helpless mumbling weren't worth much. 

Till a freezing burn began to claw and climb down his throat like acid burns. That tingling feeling was back but now he felt it deep down in his chest. His muscles began to spasm, as they tried to force an invasion out of his body that seemed to try to choke him for good. 

His still functioning left hand started to claw not at Gabriel but at his own chest and jacket, while hitching weak coughs made him feel like he had to throw up. 

Gabriels Hand gripped his tightly as a vice and forced it down on the concrete. He held Jack down easily as he weakly thrashed and shuddered and fought for his life. 

Jacks eyes rolled back in his head. 

He stopped thinking about anything and god, it was a relief beyond words or conscious thought. 

* * *

"Come 'on', you useless shit. I don't have time for your damsel in distress bullcrap."

His head felt somehow hollow and hurt in the steady pulse of his own heartbeat. Jacks eyelids fluttered. He bit out a deep groan as sore joints popped and abused muscles stretched. 

"Stop the dramatics, and get up already!! "

With that his arm got pulled and just a second later he sat upright with a whirling sickness in his guts while Gabriel stared him down, prepared to strangle him right back again to the brink of death. "You are so damn useless without me. How the fuck did you even survive for this long, you-..."

His words were followed by a lot atrocities of the spanish language while he pushed and pulled on Jack till he sat upright on his own. 

Jack blinked numbly and just stared at him. 

"What. are you staring at, you useless Jackass!"

While Jack blinked in shock and pure amazement into Gabriels grey and angry face, he lifted his somehow not broken right hand to his face. 

His visor was still gone. 

A big lump of sudden raw emotions choked him up as he tried to comprehend what had happened to him. He just couldn't think straight. 

Because Jack could see Gabriel with his own two eyes. He didn't see 'anything' other than red hue for over eight years now. 

"Gabe, I-... "  
His lips felt numb while his emotions ran high wire. He felt already overwhelmed with his so sudden and without any warning regained senses. 

Gabriel stared hard and sour back at him, till he somehow deflated. His shoulders sagged visibly. "Jonathan... Got me scared there. Congratulations. I still hate your guts."

Jack barked out a wet sounding laugh as he lifted his hands almost in a hypnotized state of mind. "Don't be like that", he rasped. This time Gabriel didn't flinch back as Jacks fingers touched his face in an almost reverent gesture. 

Like one would touch a mirage that could be gone in a whirl of dust and smoke at a moments notice.  
Gabriel kind of was. 

Gabriel grumbled deep and hearing that voice, the first time in years, on his own without any aids... 

It made Jack shudder right down to his bones. 

"What", he swallowed. "Did you do. It had to be something stupid. What did you do to me."

"I saved your pretty boy ass, is what I did! ", spit Gabriel back, fast and defensive like a snake. And Jack wanted to roll his eyes but then he would have to look away for just a second. 

"Yeah, I know. But how. I was dying. It felt like dying, anyway. I-... "  
Gabriels hand pressed flat over his still blood soaked and sticky chest. "How you die-... 'If' you die, 'I' will be the one hunting you down. Im the Reaper after all."

Jack blinked. "You always were a bit of a drama queen. "

"Oh, shut your god damn mouth!", hissed Gabriel back like an affronted alley cat. 

Jacks thumbs caressed Gabriels ridiculously high cheekbones and suddenly Gabriel went stone still. 

"Gabe", Jack asked again. With more weight and all seriousness of the Situation they were in. 

Gabriel swallowed visibly. "I... I gave you a part of myself. "

Jack lifted his eyebrows in alarm and opened his mouth but Gabriel interrupted him before he could even start. "Not a big one, of course! Just a... chunk of my nanites. They are working fine. Repairing a lot of that deep tissue damage."

Jack nodded slowly. "It will die down, won't it...?"

Gabriel looked uncomfortable beyond belief.  
"I... guess so. "

Jack swallowed thickly. 

"I'm sorry, Jonathan, but I wouldn't know. They are a part of me, of course. No Idea how long they will survive without me as a host. But they are doing a good job right now."

Gabriels fingertips lifted Jacks quivering chin.  
"Sure looks a lot more like that perfect pretty boy face that I love to hate, again."

Jack closed his eyes as hot and burning tears started to blind him and a rough sob left his throat. "Now, come on you old sap", murmured Gabriel and tugged lovingly at a strand of silver blond hair. "Get up. Come on. Everything's working fine?"

Jack shook his head and rubbed a loose fist over his wet eyes and cheeks to get rid of the embarrassing tears that started to drip down his face. 

"Its exceptional", he muttered. "But the buzzing is still annoying. "  
While his eyes worked amazingly fine, his ears were still filled with white noise, but it was more distracting as this all consuming tinitus he used to have in his head. 

"Really?", asked Gabriel quite astounded and lifted his brows while his hands cupped Jacks head gently in his claws. Carefully he tilted Jacks head this and that way, while he looked for obvious untended injuries. 

But then a glint of revelation lighted up his eyes and he suddenly grinned. A wide and perfect expression with shining eyes and a rumbling laugh. "You useless dipshit. Look!"

Gabriel pointed over his shoulder and Jack followed his hint suspiciously. His eyes went wide and his breath caught in his throat. 

Between some houses down the street he could make out the glittering sight of the sun above water. 

It wasn't white noise. Jack heard the rush of the sea...! 

Jack was unable to form words, was way too overwhelmed, while Gabriels arms suddenly closed around his waist, tugged his body back against his front. Just held on for a little while. 

"You will be just fine, boy scout. My nanites-... They will hold it up as long as they can. Huh. They are the good guys after all. Happy teenie tiny omnics."

Jack choked out a wet laugh and pressed his face into the Crook of Gabriel's neck.  
"Oh, just shut it now...!

* * *

As Jack tracked his steps back to the landing site, Talon was already gone. The sun reached its peak over a war torn Ilios. Kind of ironic that he thought of retirement in the area just sime weeks before. Now actually able to see the caused destruction with his own eyes, it made Jacks blood run cold. He should have told Gabriel to hurry the fuck up with his ridiculous inside plot. Not that the guy would care, anyway. 

After he found his completely crashed visor and his rifle he made it down the deserted lane to the Dropship. 

Genji stood watch like a statue above till he got him in his sight. "Soldier!!"

In an instant Angela and Lucio rushed out of the Ship.

Only now Jack got aware that his visor was gone. His breath hitched as he stopped dead in his tracks and squeezed the useless chunk of synthetic materials and metal in his hand. 

He was so badly overwhelmed with everything that had happened, that he just forgot. He just couldn't think straight. And Gabriel, that darn moron, hadn't made him aware of the fact either...! 

What should he do? Or say? It wasn't a given that they all would recognize him, but-... 

Angela stormed right into him before he could even think his utterly panicked thought to an end and looped her arms around his neck. The momentum of her jump almost knocked them both over in the process. 

"Jack!!", she cried under her breath and squeezed hard while Jack just let go of his gun and almost shot himself in the foot as it fell. 

"Thank god you are alright, we were all so worried! ", she cried, stepped up on the tips of her toes and pressed a dry kiss to his bare cheek. 

Jack felt heat flooding his face while his eyes flickered nervously to Genji as Jesse stomped his way from the Dropship with a genuinely curious Hannah Song in tow. "No longer grumpy gramps, huh?", she asked with a curious tilt of her head and instantly got Jacks hackles to rise. 

"What are you even-... ", but then he stopped and looked around. "Why aren't you-...? "

The earth shook a little as Winston plunged down from a rooftop. "Because we know", his voice boomed in his big chest. 

Jack lifted his brows and Winston pointed to his destroyed visor. "We heard. "

Jack felt all the blood leaving his face. "What of it...? "

"Everything! ", Jesse growled oh so tetchily. 

Jack flushed in utter horror and humiliation. With a clenching jaw he lifted a hand to cover his eyes with a low groan. 

"Someone reactivated the connection for us, just moments after it got cut off", Winston explained. "And it sure as hell wasn't one of us", grumbled Jesse. 

The moment Angela snivled silently and let go of his neck, Jesse stomped into the opened space and pulled Jack suddenly into a hard and tight hug, that almost seemed to squeeze out Jacks insides. 

"What are you doing?!", Jack rasped breathlessly, but Jesse didn't let go of him even after he stopped squirming. 

"Hearing your old man almost get choked to death through a com channel and not being anywhere near to help him does a lot of things to you, you damn tit."

Jack breathed in deeply as Jesse let finally go of him. 

"What are you talking about and why the hell do you act like I-... "  
"You and motherfucking Gabriel Reyes got full dad mode on me till the day you both fucking died and now 'you' of all people expect 'me' not to notice when you suddenly show up again?!", bellowed Jesse wild like a snarling beast right into Jacks face who almost jumped out of his skin. 

Genji snorted a laugh and Ana, who suddenly came up beside Jack, shook her head with a deep long suffering sigh. "I told you so, Jack", she said in her usual 'mother knows best' voice. 

Jacks eyes started to sting in this meanwhile oddly familiar way. "I didn't think I should-... "

"Of course you didn't think! Fucking Morrison and thinking!! ", howled Jesse and lost his hat as he almost pulled out strands of his wild hair. Lena caught it quick like lightning before it could touch the ground. "I am so very sorry, love", she mumbled with deep concern in her eyes. "I lost track of you back there. I should have gone back for you, but-..."  
A big Hand landed on her shoulder and Shook her whole frame. "Now, now", boomed Reinhardts rough voice. "We all had our opponents. It was a hard fight. It's good to have you back, old friend."  
Lena still looked guilty. A zip through time and space later, she hugged Jack as tightly as Angela did. 

Jack flinched back and jumped again as he stood suddenly toe on toe with Fareeha, who watched him silently through a Hawk like scrutinizing stare. She looked so very much like her mother. 

Jack was suddenly flooded by so many images of 'before'. Little Fareeha who played cards with Jesse in the lounge, while a young version of Angela studied, her armchair surrounded by dozens of heavy books. 

He thought of Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjörn and Gabe, his own little family of heroes. So many People with even more good and noble intentions who unknowingly plastered a direct route to hell with them. 

In the end, of course, Jack cried again. 

He seemed to do that a lot, lately. 

He walked away from another fight that cracked his bones and tore new scars. His time still wasn't up yet. 

The Reaper himself had sent him home.

**Author's Note:**

> [Buy Me a Coffee](https://ko-fi.com/G2G088M9)


End file.
